Thursday, December 1, 2011

DIY 2 in 1 Birdcage Veil

 
I knew I HAD to wear a birdcage veil for my wedding but I couldn't find one that I liked or that was in my price range. So, I decided to make my own. I actually made the veil and the feathers/brooch clip seperately. I wanted to wear both pieces for the ceremony but just the feather/brooch clip for the reception. I think the finished product turned out pretty dang good. I wish I would have taken pictures while making this goreous little piece but I didn't so written instructions will have to do.

 
Things you'll need:
 french or russian netting (I order off of etsy)
black and white feathers (I got mine from Hobby Lobby)
brooch (I got mine from Michael's)
hot glue gun
felt
Clips
needle
thread
scissors
 
Instructions:
 For the veil
Lay the Russian netting out on a flat work surface.
Cut the netting into a  14-by-14-inch square.
Make sure not to cut the finished edge. This is the edge that will lay over your eye. I had to cut mine a little smaller then 14-by-14 but it's good to start out with a bigger piece of netting and cut it as you go.
Bunch up the top of the netting until you have all of the cut edges secure in your hand.
Play with the netting in the mirror until you like how it lays over you eye.
Sew the netting that you have bunched together. If you don't have a needle and thread handy just hot glue it together. It's okay if it looks sloppy. The bunched up part with be covered by feathers anyway.
Turn the veil over and hot glue a clip onto the center of the veil. I opened up the clip and attached a piece of felt in between so when the clip closes it won't be glued shut.
Allow the glue to dry thoroughly before proceeding.

 For the feather/brooch clip
 Cut a rectangular piece of felt.
Arrange your feather how you want them to lay and one by one hot glue them to the center of the felt. Make sure the felt is not visible.
Hot glue your brooch on top of the feathers. I glued mine to the bottom center as you can see in the picture below.
Turn it over and hot glue a clip onto the center of the felt. Like I said before make sure to open the clip and place a piece of felt in between it before gluing.
Let this dry. 
Insert the veil clip into your hair in front of your ear.
Attach the feather/brooch clip to the bottom center of the veil.
Pull the veil over your face and bobby pin if needed.